Mergers and acquisitions have been on a tear, and judging by the $1.1 trillion of cash and short-term investments held by nonfinancial companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, the beat is likely to go on.

About two-thirds of this money is in information technology, industrials, and health care, according to S&P Capital IQ. Indeed, of the $185.3 billion in deals announced so far this year through Feb. 14, IT accounted for $33.4 billion, close behind consumer staples, at $33.8 billion. Consumer discretionary led the pack, at $52.5 billion, while health care contributed $9.0 billion, and industrials, $5.6 billion.

Cash-Rich: Companies that are sitting on $1.1 trillion of cash piles are starting to use it to make the most deals since 2005.
William Waitzman for Barron's

Just $58.1 billion of deals were announced in the corresponding year-earlier stretch.

In fact, this year's early M&A pace is the most torrid since 2005, before the financial crisis. And the surge is far from over. "Companies are looking to buy growth," observes Richard Peterson, an S&P Capital IQ director. He says that at least a dozen $1 billion-plus transactions have been announced already in 2013. Among them: The $23.3 billion buyout of
H.J. Heinz
(ticker: HNZ) by Warren Buffett and 3G Capital, and
Comcast's
CMCSA -0.14423770373575653%Comcast Corp. Cl AU.S.: NasdaqUSD69.23
-0.1-0.14423770373575653%
/Date(1481234400305-0600)/
Volume (Delayed 15m)
:
8640557AFTER HOURSUSD69.2023
-0.02770000000001-0.040011555683952045%
Volume (Delayed 15m)
:
135713
P/E Ratio
20.302052785923753Market Cap
165895068742.442
Dividend Yield
1.5889065434060379% Rev. per Employee
513876More quote details and news »CMCSAinYour ValueYour ChangeShort position
(CMCSA) $16.7 billion deal for 49% of NBCUniversal. And
Dell's
(DELL) $24.4 billion plan to take itself private is also swelling the numbers.

"There are a lot of private-equity dollars sloshing around," says Joe Steger, head of global tech M&A at Ernst & Young. If favorable trends continue in leverage, "it should help give people a reason to do deals."

Next Week: Preview

Monday 18

Presidents Day is celebrated in the U.S. All markets are closed. Canada's markets are closed for Family Day.

Wednesday 20

Minutes of the FOMC's January meeting could hold some clues to when, and why, the Fed might decide to scale back quantitative easing, says LPL Investment Strategist John Canally. If, for example, the Fed says that most members agree there should be targets on QE, bond yields could rise.

Thursday 21

Weekly jobless claims may be tricky because the recent blizzard may have suppressed the previous week's tally, says MFR's Joshua Shapiro.

A roster of Fed presidents speaks. James Bullard of St. Louis and John Williams of San Francisco are in New York, while Richard Fisher of Dallas talks about Why the Texas Economy Outperforms the Nation, in Dallas.

A heavy day for economic indicators, including consumer prices, existing home sales, and leading indicators for January. The Philly Fed manufacturing index for February is also reported.

Friday 22

Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo speaks about international cooperation in financial rules at a Cornell Symposium.

The European Commission issues interim economic forecasts.

Fed Governor Jerome Powell and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren participate in discussing a report, Fiscal Crises and the Role of Monetary Policy, at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.